I have seen as a one-off piece cam for use when a second when cleaning and also for that little bit extra protection as safety on a stance. I am wondering on buying one, for use also as a single piece to take on C grade scrambles to assist if needing to assist me with anyone over a difficult stretch with my hiking rope.

Has anyone ever used? Thoughts? It seems the extended range is ideal in this situation when one wants only to carry one `catch-all' piece.

Last, let me know if you have one that you are wanting to sell or part with please .....

The cam's range is amazing and yes, it is very useful as part of a minimalist kit or that "go-to" piece when you're fumbling around not knowing which size crack you're trying to reach on tip-toes. And like you said, on long pitches one often arrive at a stance with good placements but no / little gear - very useful in those circumstances. I bought the red cam, second hand, a few years ago (from a reputable climber) but hardly ever use it - I double up on most cams on my rack and the additional versatility is mostly redundant (the link-cams are also quite heavy).

If you are interested send me a pm; willing to let it go for the same price I bought it.

robertbreyer wrote:Re: Omega Pacific:
I have heard first-hand from a customer that he tested them and the Omega cam popped out. Repeatedly. They simulated a test fall, good placement, etc. This was from someone whose opinion I value.

Besides, this discussion is a bit of a mute point since they aren't being imported any more.
Trust Darwin a.k.a. capitalism to sort things out.

I was there when this happened. We tried the same with a normal cam in the same spot and it was fine, no issues at all.

They are not one cam with the range of three cams, they are 3 linked cams, and there are gaps in the range between each size. If you happen to place it in one of the "gap" size cracks, it will not work

for balance read the review below (taken from rei reviews)
personally i would not be inclined to run it our above a link-cam; but for stances, directionals or scrambling protection (where you can carefully inspect & pull-test the placement) i do think they have value.

Saved my life and my climbing partner's.
I commented earlier as to the wide range of uses of these special pieces of pro. I have since been able to put them through their paces...all four of them, and I can say that no longer will I judge a book by its cover. While these didn't initially feel as solid to me in hand as my BD C4's... last year...my partner and I were on a multipitch climb on sandstone. I gained the belay stance and set an equalized anchor in honestly suspect rock, but no other options existed...part of climbing...anyway I placed #1 C4, two TCU'S and one Link cam...I believe the gold one...anyway my partner was about to gain the belay ledge I was standing on when a foot hold blew sending him off the rock...my anchor blew...all of it...except for the gold link cam....held firm, did not budge. While I have evaluated and re-evaluated my actions from that day, in the end that little piece of hardware saved my life...which is why we spend our hard earned $$$$$ for. They will ALWAYS have a place on my rack...hell if they weren't so heavy I would only carry these. https://www.rei.com/product/737338/omeg ... -link-cams

It was myself and climbing partner who tested the Omega Pacific link when Tristan brought them in.
And we probably single handed ruined his plans on importing these cams. (sorry T, I still feel guilty )

We placed the cam on a sport route, Gospel Express in Montagu, clipped the bolt below, and started taking falls on the cam.
We both tried multiple times.
It popped every time.
Mostly causing us to narrowly miss ground falls.

We tried the same placement with 2 different DMM cams.
First a small DMM cam which failed. (The crack being to large for the cam)
Then a larger DMM cam, which worked fine.

okay Peter i will pay you to take the cam
all gear has it's limitations & risks - understand it and use it wisely.
ps: did the uber-experienced Paul Fatti not pop a cam on Boggle in the Magalies and broke his back? Anybody know what type of cam that was?

I haven't done any trad in a while, but I used to really enjoy these pieces for what they were. They are awesome if you don't know what to expect, but it is senseless to carry a whole rack of them. I seem to remember?? the smaller lobes were made of steel not aluminium (for strength limitations) and that compromised the bite you could get esp on some types of rock? Anyway if you understand their limitations, they are still phenomenal.

jacosmuts wrote:I've never seen any linked cams on Paul's rack - but I stand corrected.

yup, the guys i know with link-cams use them almost exclusively for stances & emergency-pro. my question re paul was really to say any cam can pop if the physics doesn't add up - the link cam has weaknesses in its system and it is important to understand them; used wrongly it will fail. but very experienced climbers have popped C4s, WC Friends, Dragons etc - any gear has its limitations.

I have never liked the look of the link-cam, but have placed a few that looked solid.
Re. other cams popping, apparently there is a split second before the expanding force applies when the pull is straight outwards, and if the rock is very slick, as on Boggle, it is possible for the cam to pull directly out. Having climbed Boggle with Paul, after the incident, we looked carefully at the placements, and can think of no other explanation.

I have the purple and red and use them often on stances or emergencies. Also have taken some falls on them.
I do my best not do place them though because the lobes can break easily if loaded weirdly. To clarify, the parts of the lobes that is not engages can be twisted over an edge and break. You wont fall, but CAM will be broken.

So they are awesome - but since I tend to save them for the stances and then only use them of nothing else fits, I rarely use them. But when I do I'm SUPER glad I had them.